NEW YORK, NEW YORK — A Queens bar owner claims the NYPD is trying to run him out
of business because he helped prove his patrons were framed in a fake drug-dealing sting.

Eduardo Espinoza, 36, of Elmhurst, was hit with more than a dozen violations from the 110th
Precinct — including two for failing to have liquid soap and paper towels in his bar bathroom
— after handing over a videotape suggesting undercover officers made up a buy-and-bust
deal in his club in January.

I been harassed so much, I’m selling my business, said Espinoza, owner of Delicias
de Mi Tierra on 91st Place in Elmhurst.

Every two to three weeks, there’s cops in here, searching the bar. If there’s no violation,
they’ll make it up. I lost all my clients — everybody’s scared to come in my place right
now.

Espinoza was working in his bar about 1:40 a.m. on Jan. 5 when undercover officers busted
brothers Jose and Maximo Colon and friends Raul Duchimasa and Luis Rodriguez for allegedly
peddling $100 worth of cocaine.

Queens prosecutors dropped those charges last week because of Espinoza’s security video
showing that the undercover officers had no contact with them in the bar, Colon’s lawyer
said.

Prosecutors and the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau are investigating whether to bring
charges against the officers. Investigators are also poring over the officers’ prior cases for
signs of misconduct, sources said.

An NYPD spokesman said the department would look into the matter. But sources blamed the
frequent police visits on community complaints.

Espinoza said he thinks police are retaliating against him because of a strange phone call he
received shortly before the harassment began.

A man who identified himself as the officer who made the drug arrest in his club demanded to
know if Espinoza had taped the events of that night.

I said I already gave it to the defendants, Espinoza said, He said, Oh
s–t. He hung up.

Espinoza, who has owned the bar for 2-1/2 years, said he’d gotten only two summonses
before this year.

Most of his summonses have been tossed — including one for having an 8-foot neon sign
without a permit, he said.

He’s still fighting a $2,500 fine from the Buildings Department for being overcapacity and a
summons for ignoring police orders when he tried to park outside the 110th Precinct
stationhouse last month.

I knew they were innocent from the first moment, Espinoza said of the framed men.
I felt so bad, I put myself in their shoes. Now [the cops] keep harassing me.

Thank GOD we have these fine brave officers to protect us from 8-foot neon signs and processed coca plant material!

I have nightmares about neon signs terrorizing my community with cocaine packets. I wet myself at night thinking about it. But now, I no longer have to fear the 8-foot neon sign pleasure-substance-distributors corrupting my family.

And I also want to add that, because of the money these officers steal from me to fund their protection racket, I no longer have to WORRY about having enough money to buy my own neon-sign terror device or terrorist-plant-matter. So these guys are saving me from myself!

Shit, maybe we should just make EVERYONE in America become a cop, from age 1 to 101, and then nobody would ever commit any neon-plant crimes EVER AGAIN :-)

I’m flattered by the request, but when I submitted the article for publication I agreed that I would not republish for a period of 2 years from the date of publication. Since the book was published at the end of February 2008, the ideal day to reprint online will most likely be 28 February 2010.

— 2009 —

[…] little to no repercussions or consequences. Imagine that they set up checkpoints on our soil and routinely searched and ransacked entire neighborhoods of homes. Imagine if Americans were fearful of these foreign troops and […]

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